Religious rights; God's wants; Bad bankers; Bureaucrat benefits; & Legal niceties.

There's a BBC Radio 4 program called Beyond Belief. It regularly lives up to its billing as it usually centres on folk of different (or the same) religions arguing about whose interpretation of an ancient book is correct. Last week I enjoyed a discussion between a mainstream Muslim and an Ahmadi Muslim as to whether the latter were heretics or not. One fascinating aspect of the Ahmadi version of Islam is their belief that Jesus survived the crucifixion, left the Holy Land for Kashmir in search of the Lost Tribes of Israel, married, had lots of kids and lived to a ripe old age. He lies buried there, under the name of Yuz Asaf and one can visit his tomb. You couldn't make it up. Perhaps. More here, for those interested.

As I type this, Boy George is singing the line: "My God is bigger than yours. My God is better than yours". Quite.

And now someone's saying that God loves us all so much he wants us to follow the traditional family model he 'ordained'. In Kashmir, if not in the Holy Land, where, like most Spaniards, and an increasing number of Brits, he was still living with his mother at 33.

You might think that paying out huge bonuses or rigging the LIBOR rate so as to increase your bonus would be the worst thing that bankers could get up to. But here in Spain several senior executives are in the dock for providing illegal loans, inflating expense claims and enriching themselves, in one case of one Board, to the tune of €19m. There's no doubt some of these will end in jail, if only briefly.

A recent survey concluded that public sector workers aged 55 and over are the best paid in Spain. Which is going to surprise no one. Little wonder, then, that so many young people here in Pontevedra aspire to be a funcionario.

Talking of this . . . Here in the centre of the city there's almost an entire barrio dedicated to the offices of the bureaucrats who form the income base of this provincial capital. It was finished not so long ago. And yet, last week's winds blew panels of some of the buildings. Yet another architect to be sued?

For those who remain confused about the difference between a witness, an imputado and an acusado, here's something which should set you straight. With a HT to the eccentric but erudite Welshman of Kalebeul.

Finally . . . Where was this when I needed it?

The Environment
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We woke up today to blue skies and sun. It will take a while to digest this phenomenon and to see whether we nonetheless get rain before midnight.